California's war with Texas gets real
Lone Star State Republicans' efforts to redraw their congressional map at the behest of President Donald Trump prompted Democratic lawmakers to abscond to New York, Illinois and Massachusetts in a last-ditch attempt to resist the maneuver.
But it's California where Gov. Gavin Newsom's pledge to reconfigure districts to pick up Democratic seats could have a significant impact on the balance of power in Congress in the midterms. It's perhaps the biggest moment in the modern political battle between California and Texas, whose long-running feud has for years served mostly as a symbolic proxy war for Democrats and Republicans. Now, things are getting real.
'I'm not going to sit back any longer in the fetal position, a position of weakness, when in fact California can demonstrably advance strength,' Newsom said at a recent news conference.
Things were less serious in 2014, when then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry drove through Sacramento in a Tesla to needle then-California Gov. Jerry Brown as the two were competing to host the company's battery plant.
Perry had already run California radio ads promoting Texas' business-friendly climate, which Brown waved away as 'barely a fart.'
Before Perry's L Street cruise, former GOP Assemblymember Chuck DeVore praised tax policies in Texas — a place he's since made his home. And he was hardly alone. Democratic leaders rail against Texas gun and abortion policies, while Republicans portray California as an overregulated nanny state plagued by crime and homelessness.
'Texas is an easy punching bag for liberals. California is an easy punching bag for conservatives,' Kevin Shuvalov, a Houston-based strategist, told POLITICO way back in 2017.
Newsom is no stranger to this rhetoric. In 2022, he spent campaign money on billboard and newspaper ads touting California's abortion rights and denouncing Texas' gun-friendly politics.
The same year, the governor signed legislation allowing Californians to sue people and companies that dispense banned guns — an answer to Texas' 'bounty'-style anti-abortion law that employed a similar legal mechanism.
This time, Newsom's offensive could affect national politics far more than a billboard showing a woman in handcuffs. If he succeeds, California could pick up five Democratic congressional seats, a change the governor and House members say is necessary to combat GOP tactics.
'When Trump actually says he's at war, and the war's with Democrats, we're not bringing a butter knife to a gun fight,' San Diego Rep. Scott Peters told Playbook.
IT'S TUESDAY AFTERNOON. This is California Playbook PM, a POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check on California politics and a look at what our policy reporters are watching. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to lholden@politico.com.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY
KICK 'EM OUT: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton today announced he's moving forward with plans to remove absent state Democrats from office, our Andrew Howard reports.
Paxton said he would begin asking Texas courts on Friday to remove the Democrats if they do not return to Austin.
'Democrats have abandoned their offices by fleeing Texas, and a failure to respond to a call of the House constitutes a dereliction of their duty as elected officials,' Paxton said in a statement. 'Starting Friday, any rogue lawmakers refusing to return to the House will be held accountable for vacating their office. The people of Texas elected lawmakers, not jet-setting runaways looking for headlines. If you don't show up to work, you get fired.'
The legal process to remove the lawmakers will likely take time. First, Paxton must file a case against each individual absent Democrat in various district courts, a process that would surely lead to appeals and could drag out long beyond the end of the special session on Aug. 19.
IN OTHER NEWS
CLOSING TIME: Newsom's administration yesterday announced it will close a Riverside County prison by fall 2026, following through on the governor's pledge to shutter a fourth state-owned facility.
The state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will shut down the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco, which the agency estimates will save $150 million per year.
Newsom has closed three state-owned prisons and a leased facility staffed by state corrections employees during his time in office. The governor announced plans to close another prison as a cost-cutting measure during his revised budget presentation in May.
FOX'S ELEX-IT: Longtime Fox 11 Los Angeles anchor Elex Michaelson announced today he's leaving the station to 'pursue an exciting new opportunity.'
Michaelson, who hosts the California politics show 'The Issue Is,' said in an X post that his last day will be Aug. 15. He said he's not allowed to share information about his next move 'just yet.'
'What I can talk about...is my enormous gratitude to my incredibly talented FOX 11 colleagues, all the guests I've had the honor of interviewing, and so many of you for your support,' Michaelson said.
WHAT WE'RE READING TODAY
— Los Angeles County chief executive Fesia Davenport warned the Board of Supervisors that the county is grappling with financial pressures that will require program cuts, including the potential closure of a public hospital. (LAist)
— Families in Central California have been preparing for potential ICE raids by planning who they will call and who will take care of their kids. (The Fresno Bee)
— AT&T, which provides much of California's landline service, has taken its battle to drop landline service to California customers to the legislature after regulators blocked its bid last year. (The Mercury News)
AROUND THE STATE
— Religious leaders and volunteers can now accompany people to San Diego's immigration court under a pilot program that focuses on offering spiritual support to those who need it. (The San Diego Union-Tribune)
— The city of San Diego will use more than $8 million in settlement funds from SeaWorld's unpaid rent lawsuit to improve public parks, but some South Bay residents expressed disappointment that their communities weren't included. (inewsource)
— A Los Angeles college's culinary program had an uptick in enrollment last academic year even as other programs and hundreds of restaurants in the region have shuttered. (The Los Angeles Times)
— compiled by Juliann Ventura
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